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A Comparison of the Rates of Postoperative Infection Following Distal Radius Fixation Between Pediatric and Young
J Alex Albright1, Ozair Meghani1, Elliott Rebello1
1Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Insights
Young adults have a higher risk of surgical site infections after distal radius fracture fixation compared to younger patients. Surgeons should consider this increased risk when discussing surgical outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Surgical site infections (SSI) following distal radius fracture fixation can negatively impact patient function.
- Comparing infection rates across different age groups is crucial for risk stratification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare postoperative infection rates in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients undergoing distal radius fracture fixation.
Main Methods:
- A matched retrospective study utilized PearlDiver software for data analysis.
- Statistical methods included chi-squared tests, logistic regression, and linear regression.
Main Results:
- Young adults (18-30 years) showed a significantly higher infection rate (OR=1.81) compared to pediatric and adolescent cohorts.
- Open fracture, smoking, hypertension, and obesity were also identified as risk factors for infection.
- No significant change in infection rates was observed over the 11-year study period.
Conclusions:
- Young adults experience a disproportionately higher rate of SSIs after distal radius fracture fixation.
- Understanding these age-specific risks is vital for informed patient counseling and surgical decision-making.
Background:
Infection following surgical fixation of a distal radius fracture can markedly compromise a patient's functional outcome. This study aimed to compare infection rates in pediatric (5-14 years) and adolescent (15-17 years) patients undergoing fixation of a distal radius fracture to a cohort of young adult (18-30 years) patients.
Methods:
A matched retrospective study was performed using PearlDiver to determine the rates of postoperative infection following distal radius fixation. χ2 and logistic regression were used to assess differences in rates, while linear regression was used to analyze rates of infection over time.
Results:
In 32 368 patients, young adults experienced postoperative infection at a significantly increased rate (odds ratio [OR] = 1.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45-2.27). This trend was consistent among the male (OR = 1.96; 1.49-2.57) and female (OR = 2.11, 1.37-3.27) cohorts. In the multivariate model, the adult cohort remained at increased risk (OR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.04-1.89), with open fracture (OR = 4.99; 3.55-6.87), smoking (OR = 1.76; 1.22-2.48), hypertension (OR = 1.69; 1.20-2.33), and obesity (OR = 1.37; 1.02, 1.80) identified as other significant risk factors. There was no significant change in the rate of postoperative infections over the 11-year study period.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrated that although surgical site infections following distal radius fixation are low in patients aged 30 years or younger (0.97%), young adults develop infections at a significantly increased rate. This is important for surgeons to recognize when counseling patients on the risks of surgical fixation.
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